COSMOS 2471 is the first Glonass K satellite to be launched. The next-generation satellite is smaller than earlier platforms, will transmit more navigation signals and has a longer design life. The Glonass K satellite is expected to operate for 10 years and features five navigation channels, including a new civilian L-band signal. In an improvement over earlier Glonass satellites, the new craft are lighter and based on an unpressurized bus built by ISS Reshetnev. Unlike previous Glonass M satellites, which launch three at a time on Proton rockets from Kazakhstan, the new generation of navigation spacecraft will blast off on Soyuz boosters from Russia's northern space center.